Grayson Lake Water Level
Grayson Lake is at 643.08 ft today (Oct 31), 1.92 ft below its 645 ft full pool, down 0.31 ft this week.
Kentucky · Little Sandy River
Full pool is the summer level. Grayson Lake is drawn down about 8 ft to roughly 637 ft over winter for flood storage, so a lower reading outside the summer season is usually scheduled rather than drought.
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Water level history
About Grayson Lake
Grayson Lake is a reservoir on the Little Sandy River in Kentucky, operated by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Its full summer pool sits at 645 ft above sea level. Live water levels come from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (CWMS) and update hourly.
Understanding Grayson Lake's water level
Grayson Lake runs about 19.7 miles up the Little Sandy River through Carter and Elliott counties in northeastern Kentucky. The Huntington District of the Corps of Engineers started the dam in 1964 and finished it in January 1968, and the lake opened to the public in April 1969. The dam is an earthen embankment 120 feet high and 1,460 feet long, controlling a drainage area of 196 square miles, and Kentucky Route 7 was rerouted when the valley filled. The Corps operates it for flood risk management, water quality and recreation, and it also supplies municipal water to about 10,000 people in Carter and Elliott counties. By the Corps' estimate in 2019, the project had prevented around $150 million in flood damage downstream. The name honors Colonel William Grayson, an officer under George Washington.
The level follows a fixed seasonal guide curve. Through the winter the Corps holds the lake at 637 feet, which shrinks the surface to roughly 1,160 acres. Filling starts on April 1 and the lake is meant to reach its 645 foot summer pool by April 15, when it covers about 1,510 acres. It stays there through October, then the Corps lowers it again from November 1 so it is back at 637 by December 1. Everything above 645 is flood storage, and the flood pool tops out at 681 feet, so after heavy rain the lake can climb well above summer pool while the Corps limits releases to protect the Little Sandy valley below. Readings in that range are the dam doing its job, and the water is let out gradually once the river downstream can take it.
The Corps lists 671.41 feet as the top of record at Grayson, about 26 feet above summer pool. Its published daily data since mid 2020 never came near that, which means the record was set earlier. The biggest recent rises were 663.9 feet on April 8, 2025 and 661.9 feet on March 4, 2021. In the upper lake above Bruin Creek the channel narrows between sandstone walls that the Corps says reach 150 feet, with waterfalls spilling off them after rain. Grayson Lake State Park, opened in 1970, sits along the shore. The water is clear and infertile, and state biologists rate the largemouth bass fishery as fair over the past twenty years. Grayson was the first major Kentucky lake to get a 15 inch minimum size limit on largemouth, in 1982, and it now carries a protective slot instead.
Grayson Lake — frequently asked
What is Grayson Lake's normal summer pool?
Summer pool is 645 feet, which the Corps of Engineers aims to hold from mid April through October. At that level the lake covers about 1,510 acres and is roughly 60 feet deep near the dam. The 645 foot line is also the bottom of the flood control pool, so any reading above it means the lake is temporarily storing floodwater that will be released over the following days or weeks.
When is Grayson Lake drawn down for winter?
The Corps' guide curve starts lowering the lake on November 1 and reaches winter pool of 637 feet by December 1. That eight foot drop cuts the surface from about 1,510 acres to about 1,160 acres and exposes cover near the bank, so boaters should keep to the channel. The extra empty space gives the reservoir more room to catch winter and spring storms.
When does Grayson Lake fill back up in spring?
The guide curve holds 637 feet until April 1, then raises the lake to 645 feet by April 15. In wet springs it often goes higher than planned because the Corps is storing runoff. In April 2025 the pool reached 663.9 feet, almost 19 feet above summer pool, and state biologists have noted that very high spring water has repeatedly interfered with their bass sampling.
What is the record high water level at Grayson Lake?
The Corps of Engineers lists 671.41 feet as Grayson's top of record, about 26 feet above summer pool and roughly 10 feet below the 681 foot top of the flood pool. The Corps data does not give a date, but the observed record available since mid 2020 peaks at 663.9 feet in April 2025, so the all time high came before that. The gauge widget's recent high only covers the last few years.
Why is Grayson Lake so high after heavy rain?
Flood control is one of the dam's main jobs. When the Little Sandy rises, the Corps holds water in the lake rather than passing it straight downstream toward Grayson and the towns below, then releases it as the river falls. The outlet works can pass up to 11,900 cubic feet per second, and an emergency spillway rated at 95,000 cubic feet per second protects the dam itself in an extreme flood.
What are the bass size limits at Grayson Lake?
Largemouth and smallmouth bass are under a protective slot, so every fish between 12 and 15 inches must be released. Kentucky Fish and Wildlife says the best largemouth population is in the middle of the lake and that spring high water pulls bass into shoreline vegetation. Smallmouth are rarely seen in sampling, mostly near Deer Creek by the dam. Spotted bass, crappie and hybrids follow statewide rules.
Where are the boat ramps on Grayson Lake?
Kentucky Fish and Wildlife lists paved ramps at Bruin Creek, Caney Creek, Clifty Creek, Newfoundland and the dam, where a fee applies. Bruin Creek and Newfoundland handle any trailerable boat, while Caney and Clifty Creek suit lighter rigs. There is also a fishing pier and bank access in the tailwater, where the state stocks rainbow trout in spring and fall.
Other lakes near Grayson Lake
- Green River LakeKY
- Fishtrap LakeKY
- Kentucky LakeKY/TN
- Dewey LakeKY
- Laurel River LakeKY
- Dale Hollow LakeKY/TN
See current levels for all 15 Kentucky lakes and reservoirs →
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